The first time you watched an NBA game, you may have noticed that they have quite a few different rules than other levels of basketball. Whether it’s defensive 3 seconds or actual jump balls, plenty of rules make the NBA unique and challenging to follow at times. One additional rule like this would be the clear path foul. This post will cover what a clear path foul is, what penalties are associated with this foul, why the NBA instituted the rule, and we'll show you some examples of a clear path foul ..read more

When coaching youth basketball, it can sometimes be easy to get caught up in the pressures of games and tournaments, and forget what should be right at the top of our priority list: Having fun! Not every coach is necessarily wired that way, so to help out with that, here is a list of 15 fun basketball games for kids that are also rooted in skill development ..read more

When most coaches hear 1-3-1 defense, they most likely think of a long and athletic team playing around in the half court forcing lob passes and trapping in the corners. However, the 1-3-1 can also be used in a full-court setting as a press. While the positions and rotations are somewhat different than in the half-court, it’s a fairly easy press to implement to create difficulties for the offense ..read more

If you’ve ever attended a basketball game, chances are you’ve heard the crowd yell: “T him up!” or “That’s a technical!” What these fans are yelling about is a technical foul. While this type of foul isn't necessarily super common, it does occur enough that it’s important coaches, players, and fans alike understand what it is. This post will detail what a technical foul is, what situations cause it, what the penalty is, and different records for technical fouls ..read more

You may notice that sometimes players can let their emotions get the better of them. And when that happens, they can take it out on an opponent with an overly rough and sometimes even dangerous foul. This was termed as a “flagrant foul” many years ago, and its penalties are rather stiff to hopefully prevent players from committing them often. This post will take a look at just what a flagrant foul is, its history, as well as the different types of penalties for flagrant fouls ..read more

If you watch basketball at all, chances are you’ve heard the term “double-double.” It’s a pretty easy concept to understand, but there are many types of double-doubles, which can make things a little complicated to figure out at times. To help with that, let's discuss what a double-double is, what different types of double-doubles are out there, and some interesting facts about the statistic you may not know ..read more

If you’ve ever been to a basketball game before, chances are you’ve noticed the word “Bonus” on the scoreboard along with arrows pointing in each direction. But what exactly this word means on the court can be kind of confusing, because it occurs at different times in almost each level of basketball. This article will take a look at what “Bonus” means in basketball, when it happens at the different levels of the sport, and how you can best utilize it on both ends of the court ..read more

A flare screen occurs when a player sets a screen for a teammate cutting AWAY from the ball to a spot on the perimeter. The cutter uses the screen to create space between him and his defender on the perimeter. On the catch, the cutter can either shoot the ball if the defender goes under the flare screen or drive to the basket if he tries to go over it ..read more

These basketball drills for beginners are a great way to have your team work on their fundamentals, but do it in a slightly different way than they’re used to. Players will be building new skills while performing fun and competitive drills. The added component of a defender in many of these drills forces a degree of decision-making, which is the most important fundamental skill for your new players to develop ..read more

The 2-1-2 press does a great job of flustering an offense by forcing them to break a press by doing something they’ve been told they shouldn’t: Dribble up the sideline instead of getting the ball to the middle. The 2-1-2 press is a great change-up press to use in conjunction with another press to keep the offense guessing. If you have some athletic guards who can pressure the basketball and some posts who can cover a lot of ground, the 2-1-2 press may be something you want to try out ..read more